As the future of American democracy hangs in the balance, all eyes are on the outcome of Wisconsin’s midterm elections. And overall, Michigan secretary of state Jocelyn Benson is hopeful.
Benson was among two panelists at a Saturday Cap Times Idea Fest session held in the Memorial Union at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The session, moderated by Washington Post associate editor David Maraniss, featured Benson along with Barb McQuade, a former federal prosecutor. McQuade is now a commentator for MSNBC and teaches at the University of Michigan.
Maraniss kicked off the discussion by remarking on a speech given by Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin at Idea Fset the previous evening.
Best-selling author and associate editor at the Washington Post David Maraniss moderates a panel on threats to democracy on Saturday at UW-Madison's Memorial Union.
“It struck me that it was so optimistic,” he said. He asked Benson and McQuade if they shared Raskin’s hopefulness despite the “darkness” of this moment. Benson did.
“The truth is on our side, the law is on our side, the Constitution is on our side, history is on our side,” she said. “Every time democracy has been threatened here in the United States, people have risen up to protect and defend it.”
McQuade remained more skeptical. “I don’t know if I’m optimistic, but I am motivated,” she said, underscoring the danger of disregarding democratic processes for the purpose of maintaining power and achieving political goals.
“It’s a dire moment in our nation’s history,” she said. “I can’t believe the things we are seeing, I can’t believe the extent to which people are willing to let the ends justify the means.”
Michigan secretary of state Jocelyn Benson (center) speaks with University of Michigan law professor Barbara McQuade and David Maraniss, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, during a panel at Idea Fest 2022.
Anti-democratic forces
Throughout the hour-long discussion, both speakers discussed the anti-democratic forces taking root in U.S. politics. From disinformation campaigns that Benson said aim to infuse “doubt” into the legitimacy of election processes, to an increase in domestic terrorism threats through armed militia groups as seen at the Jan. 6 insurrection, Benson and McQuade pointed to the 2020 presidential election as a critical point of escalation.
Benson boiled down the authoritarian playbook that’s been used since into three tactics.
The first, she said, is to “keep the lies alive” at any cost, as they fuel distrust and create a less informed electorate. The second is to put “draconian” laws in place that make it more difficult to vote, she explained, giving as an example a recent ruling by the Wisconsin Supreme Court which made most forms of drop boxes illegal.
The third is to replace the “referees” of democracy. Election officials, Benson said, are “the people of integrity on both sides of the aisle who stood guard over democracy in 2020” who must be protected to ensure fair and free elections.
Benson worked at the Southern Poverty Law Center in the 1990s investigating neo-Nazi and white supremacist hate groups, an experience that shaped her later career and motivated her to run for office. This work taught her how “we’ve never fully recognized and resolved the deep racial tensions that have prevailed through much of our history.”
She pinpointed states “at the forefront of becoming increasingly diverse” — such as Michigan, Georgia, Arizona and especially Wisconsin — as homes to the most dogged attempts to restrict access to the polls and suppress the popular will of the people.
The outcome of upcoming midterm elections in these states, she emphasized, are pivotal in deciding whether the United States can ever be a democracy that fairly represents everyone.
Michigan secretary of state Jocelyn Benson (center) speaks with University of Michigan law professor Barbara McQuade and David Maraniss, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, during a panel at Idea Fest 2022.
To prosecute Trump?
Toward the end of the session, Maraniss asked McQuade for her take on some officials’ hesitations to prosecute former President Donald Trump, citing concerns of political violence.
McQuade compared that logic to negotiating with terrorists. She added that reacting with fear validates fringe groups’ beliefs that their dangerous, often criminal political tactics work.
“Violent words lead to violent actions, and we need to stop all of it,” she said.
Giving in to extremist threats, McQuade added, would be a death knell for American democracy: “If we succumb to that — the threat of violence — we’ve really lost the game.”
Cap Times Idea Fest 2022 has concluded. Many panels will be posted this week at captimesideafest.com and on the Cap Times’ YouTube channel next week.
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September 19, 2022 at 04:30AM
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